"We always lay out the blueprint for the week. That's the first thing we addressed Sunday; let's not get too full of ourselves. It's ok to talk about the bowls, but we have to remember the steps in the process to get there. I think our kids have tuned in to what information we pass on to them. If coach feels like we don't need to talk about something anymore, we don't talk about it. So far it's been good. If we tell them, "You do this. You do that and things will come to pass." And it's happened that way. So they are really starting to believe in what we tell them. But there is a constant reminder not to get too full of ourselves."

"I think it's harder to make the kids believe in the beginning that they can win than it is trying to convince them that they're not the New England Patriots. We can ground them pretty quickly."

On being 4-1:

"I haven't been around town much; I've been down in that office for the most part. I sense that people are getting excited and geared up. I saw a comment somebody made that ticket sales are going well right now. That's a good sign. That's part of our job- to sell tickets and be entertaining. Evidently, I guess we're going that. We'll find out Saturday night."

"I think our kids were excited about the win; but, honestly, they expected to win. They were a little bit reserved. It was kind of like coming home from Army, the same subdued atmosphere on the plane. The kids have always talked about how when we start winning they're going to party on the plane coming home. And 30 minutes after you leave the ground, they're all sound asleep. They have spent a lot of energy to go through the course of the football game and win it. They understand that the energy it takes to win the games we play, it's a warm feeling that we won; but, the party type atmosphere is different than they expected it to be."

"We're not going to change the schedule; we're not locking the gates. We're going to practice the same amount of time and our schedule is not going to change. With a successful football team, there is a large degree of consistency in every phase of the game. The kids would see that a sign of worry or panic in us as coaches. We are going to keep doing what got us to this point, consistency."

On the pressure to win against Nebraska:

"Obviously, in the game of football, there's going to be pressure. I think that's something our kids are finding out. To this point, they are dealing with it in a good fashion. I don't think that if we don't win, the wheels are going to fall off. I think and I hope we're passed that at this particular point in our progress."

"This is a pivotal game for us. If we are fortunate enough to get the win Saturday it could set us up, springboard us. And if we don't, things will stay status quo until we do something next week or the week after. I think everybody's just watching right now."

"Overall, I think it's probably the most significant game that we have played since I've been here."

On player's efforts and talent gap:

"I do think that we are closing the gap and to some degree, some players are playing over their heads. I think we have to play wide open, and I don't care if we have the talent of Oklahoma or Texas. That's the way I want to see those guys playing. I think you need to play up to your ability or potential otherwise you aren't playing the game of football the way it should be played. That's our job as coaches- to make player realize their potential. And we want to see it on game day.

"First thing is that you don't see the deer in the head lights look. I think it's from gaining confidence and that comes with winning. Even though we may be behind, we can always come back and win the football game. That just comes from confidence from a win. I think the guys took a big step last week in the process of learning how to win and closing out a game. We just continue to build off of that."

On Baylor's defense:

"I'm proud of this whole football team. Our defense has set the tone. They've done a great job for us and kept all of our opponents within striking distance. They gave us a chance in every football game to at some point come back and win. We didn't get it done against Texas A&M; but, certainly we had enough opportunities throughout that entire game. We could have won that game, and that's largely in part to our defense."

On Baylor's defensive forced turnovers:

"I'm extremely pleased because that usually determines the outcome of the football game. Whoever wins the turnover battle is going to win the game. It's something we've stressed. We've already surpassed what we did last year as a defensive team. Obviously, the point we've been trying to get across to them about stripping the ball and then finding somebody to get on it has registered with them. They're doing a good job with that."

On playing Carl Sims:"We've got to figure out how to give him more weapons to go with in that particular quarterback draw. We've got to expand the package. If we just run the one play, they're going to shut us down. I don't think there was any surprise when we trotted him out there Saturday. He can [throw the ball]. He's got an arm."

On Nebraska:

"I think they are a good football team. There have been a lot of things said about, `They're not this or they're not that;' but, they're still a good football team. They're kind of a power attack team. I think of them as power guys. There isn't a lot of flash in that defensive front four; but, they're coming up the field extremely strong. It's obvious to tell just looking at film that they've spent time in the weight room. You can see the same thing from their offensive lineman, their fullbacks and tailbacks. They are a powerfully, put-together team. And then they've got some speed in the skill positions. I think now they are more comfortable. They're starting to execute better and their offense is waking up. I think they are a legitimate football team and program."

"I don't think [the offense] is trying to confuse you. They just line up and try to pound you. They're spreading it a little more than we've seen from Nebraska in the past. They're throwing the ball. They are starting to execute better in the last couple weeks. I'm sure they'll have a gimmick play or two for us; but, that's no different than what every team takes into a game. But as far as trick you with a specific scheme, they don't do that."

On first home game back:

"I hope people are excited. I hope they come out Saturday and support this football team. I think [Nebraska's] Coach [Bill] Callahan is probably talking to them just like we talk to our kids before climbing on the jet. You have to tune out the distractions and travel well. I expect them to do that and I expect our kids to be ready to play as well. I know they are excited to be home. It's been about five weeks since we've played here. Hopefully, we'll have the place rocking and it should be a great atmosphere. It should be a good football game, I think."

"I would hope that there's more green and gold than there is red and white. We need our fans. I emphasize that every chance I get. I don't think our fans understand the significance they have on the way our kids play. The kids really feed off of the crowd noise. They want to be supported and they really feed off that. I'd like to see a lot of students come out and get those folks involved. Come out, be loud and be rowdy."

"We started out pretty well. On our second play we hit a big play to Dominique [Zeigler], and I think that got our confidence up. We had to defend Berryman and he really wasn't a factor very much in the game. I think our defensive tackles did a good job against him. I know Paul's numbers weren't real flashy but he came up with some big runs when we needed them. Shawn Bell had his best game all season. He made some plays with his feet down. It was nice to see Jordan Adams step up. We knew he could be in that situation and make the plays when he had the opportunities. I think it gives us a good confidence boost how we finished the game, staying on the field, and controlling the game."

On Nebraska:

"Their defense runs well and is built around a lot of pressure. One of our objectives last year was to change formations with them a lot and try not to let them get a read on you. If they get a bead on what you're going to do in the formation, they're going to keep bringing pressure. At some point in time, they are going to keep the numbers in their favor and get to you before you can throw the ball. That's what they did against Texas Tech to keep their offense off-balance."

"There are three kids that we really have to be concerned about. Jay Moore, a defensive end, is a hard, up-field rusher. He's very physical in the run with good size. He's has a couple interceptions. Their top sack guy is Adam Carriker, the defensive end on the right side. He's a big tall guy with an arm span that covers the field. The guy in the middle, Corey McKeon, is second on the team in sacks. They get a lot of pressure with him on the quarterback. That just lets us know that we have to do a good job of handling the pressure because we know we are going to be faced with it at some point in time."

"I think we played really well as a team. Defensively, we got after them pretty well. The best part about the whole defensive effort was that we shut them out in the second half. We caused a couple of fumbles and that was huge. The turnovers were big for us. We played really well in the second half. We were missing tackles and weren't playing with an edge in the first half and that changed after halftime."

"It was a big victory for us being on the road. It was a fantastic outing. We won the first annual Skunk Creek Shootout. Our guys liked it. Coach Morriss got into it. Everything you saw last week nationally, it should have been a big game in Dallas. So we put our own little spin on it and our players enjoyed it. They did a tremendous job and I'm very proud of them. IowaState has a good, solid football team and we're proud of that victory on the road."

On Nebraska:

"Offensively speaking, they are very solid football team. You don't see a lot of superlatives from them except from extracting a few things from them. They throw the ball well and they rush the ball well. The one thing that sticks out in stats is that they are fourth in the Big 12 in scoring. The guy that you have to stop is Cory Ross who is a tremendous back who's got some shake-and-bake that is just outstanding. He reminds me of [Brandon] Whitaker. He's fourth in the Big 12 in rushing and 31st in the nation. They dump it off to him really quickly and they set it up really well. They have a senior orientated offensive line, very athletic, powerful line. They're not the over-athletic quarterback team that you normally see in the Big 12. They formation you to death and throw the ball really well. Last year they got us on our heels early and we never got back to balance. But we're playing a lot better defensively now and our players have a better grasp of what we're trying to get accomplished. It's going to be a tremendous test for us and we're looking forward to it. We're coming home to a big crowd. We haven't been home in awhile and that's a good, warm feeling."